In the last months of my first maternity leave, I got depressed about our finances, and the fact that we weren’t really going in the right direction. We were in debt (and still are), and it was due to the accumulation of many factors: Mr. Sunglasses went back to school for 2.5 years and we were living off of one salary; he didn’t have a full time position yet; we wanted stuff now, rather than save money for it; and our credit card became an easy means to get what we wanted.

Since finances and parenthood go hand in hand, I thought I would share my personal journey about trying to get out of debt using Dave Ramsey’s method. In a series of posts, I will explain what we are doing to work towards our goal, whether it be ways to save money or how to properly discuss big purchases, and I’ll even include some free downloads to help you get a hold of your finances.


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In the past, I’ve gotten fed up with my debt and tried to do things on my own. Clearly I failed on that front and always ended up in debt again. I ended up talking to some online friends about what I should do to improve our finances, and someone mentioned Dave Ramsey. I didn’t know who that was, so I started googling and reading up on the man.

Dave Ramsey is, first and foremost, a guy who’s been there — who’s been in debt, who filed for bankruptcy and who got his life back on track. He is the best-selling author of The Total Money Makeover and host of Dave Ramsey’s Radio Show, which can be heard online and throughout the US. He speaks about his personal experiences and what he’s learned along the way, and teaches you how to live a debt-free life.

I signed up for Dave Ramsey’s online Financial Peace University, and completed the course with even more motivation. His approach to teaching you life lessons, the baby steps to follow, how to control your finances… all of it is amazing. Is he reinventing the wheel? No. But seeing it through his eyes is like seeing something completely new. It is a huge eye-opener. But you need to be fed up with your debt enough to make sacrifices, to budget every penny you have and to be “gazelle” intense about working on the “Debt Snowball.”

The first 7 Baby Steps are:

– $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
– Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
– 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
– Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
– College funding for children
– Pay off home early
– Build wealth and give! Invest in mutual funds and real estate.

Debt Snowball

How the Debt Snowball works is you list your debts, excluding your house, in order of smallest balance to biggest.  Don’t make the mistake of listing them in order of higher interest rate. This method is about attacking the smallest debt first, even if it has a little or no interest. I know you are probably thinking “But why pay my 0% card first when I have one at 20%?” What you’ve been doing in the past hasn’t been working… so why not try something new?

The Debt Snowball is a simple concept: You need some quick wins in order to stay pumped up about getting out of debt! Paying off debt is not always about math. It’s about motivation. How awesome does it feel when you’ve paid off 1 of your debts. You get pumped, start attacking debt #2 and in no time you will be done. When you start knocking off the easier debts, you will see results and stay motivated to dump all of your debt.

Getting Started

Steps 1 & 2 of the Baby Steps are the 2 main things you need to worry about now. If you don’t want to commit to the Financial Peace University classes (which are $100 US but come with the Finanical Peace Revisted book), then I suggest you purchase The Total Money Makeover book. You can also listen to Dave’s free podcasts, which are 40 mins of his 3 hour shows, or even try to listen to his radio show online.

I never thought one person could change my life like he has thus far. We are attacking our finances one day at a time, and hope to be debt-free by my 31st birthday, which is less than 2 years from now. For those out there with debt, I know how you feel and trust me when I say just in 2.5 months, I saw money in a completely different way. Is it easy? No. Are we used to budgeting every penny we have? No. Is it worth it? BIG FAT YES!

Are you currently in debt? Do you have a plan to get out of it?

on a side note : I have no background in finance whatsoever and everything I am blogging about is from personal experience and my determination to help others live a debt-free life.

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Mrs. Sunglasses’ Dave Ramsey Budget Plan part 1 of 5

1. Getting Out of Debt with Dave Ramsey by Mrs. Sunglasses
2. Having Proper Insurance Coverage by Mrs. Sunglasses
3. Learn to Negotiate by Mrs. Sunglasses
4. Getting Rid of Bank Fees by Mrs. Sunglasses
5. Couponing by Mrs. Sunglasses